Springfield police sued over traffic stop

Man alleges officer repeatedly slammed him into wall

Nov. 7, 2012

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A Springfield police officer unnecessarily roughed up a man during a November 2011 traffic stop, a lawsuit filed in Greene County court alleges.

Peter Anselmo of Springfield filed the suit on Oct. 31. According to the suit, Anselmo was stopped near Chestnut Expressway and North Hillcrest Avenue on Nov. 1, 2011, by Officer Brian Reeves.

As Reeves was leaving after the stop, Anselmo opened the door of his vehicle and leaned out to ask Reeves for his name. The suit says Reeves got out of his vehicle and crossed the road toward Anselmo, and Anselmo got out of his vehicle to meet him.

Anselmo then realized Reeves’ name was on the ticket, the suit says, but Reeves became agitated as he talked to Anselmo. He then asked Anselmo for his driver’s license so he could write additional tickets, the lawsuit says.

“When Plaintiff reached for his pocket to comply with Defendant Reeves’ request and get his license, Defendant Reeves then told Plaintiff to ‘keep his hands out of his pockets,’” the suit says.

Bolivar-based attorney Nathan Duncan is representing Anselmo. He said quotations from Reeves are taken from police dash-cam video and audio of the incident. The News-Leader requested the video from the city, but was told by spokesperson Cora Scott that it would not be available Tuesday.

Reeves then asked for the license again and threatened to take Anselmo to jail and to impound his vehicle, the suit says. Anselmo reached into his pocket again but Reeves told him to stop and grabbed Anselmo’s jacket with both hands.

According to the suit, the power of Reeves drove Anselmo backwards 10 feet into the side of a building. Reeves then began yelling at Anselmo and repeatedly slamming him into the wall, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit alleges Reeves told Anselmo he was not being “punitive” but could be.

“Let me explain to you what punitive means. Okay? Usually it means you’ve got to go to the hospital. Now you start grabbing for shit again and that’s exactly what’s going to happen to you,” the lawsuit alleges Reeves said.

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Reeves then said Anselmo was acting like a 12-year-old, the suit said, and Reeves compared Anselmo to his 12-year-old son.

“He wants to make excuses for what he did, he wants to complain about the consequences for what he did, and he wants to blame other people. You’ve done two out of the three. Are you 12 years old?” Reeves said, according to the suit.

Anselmo said no and said he did not have any excuses. Reeves continued speaking to Anselmo, the lawsuit said.

“Take this to court. Please do. This whole incident is on video and has been audio recorded. Take it to court. We will have a heyday and you will pay every dime of that fine,” the lawsuit says Reeves said. According to Duncan, Anselmo was ticketed for speeding and not having proof of insurance.

Duncan said the suit was filed nearly a year after the incident because Anselmo was trying to find a solution out of court. While Duncan would not speak specifically about this case, he said in general the process involves meeting with the city attorney’s office and in some cases seeking out mediation.

The lawsuit also names Police Chief Paul Williams and the city of Springfield. The suit says Williams and the city failed to enforce policies on the use of force.

“We think some of his allegations are not founded,” City Attorney Dan Wichmer said. He declined to say which allegations were unfounded and said the city had only been served Monday.

Wichmer also acknowledged that the city has been speaking with Anselmo’s law firm — Douglas, Haun and Heidemann — since shortly after the incident. He said the firm has been reasonable in the past on other cases.

Cpl. Matt Brown, police spokesperson, said because the lawsuit is pending, the department is declining to comment. He referred questions to the city attorney. Brown also declined to give Reeves’ current status at the department.